John R. Blade
Colonel John R. "Rusty" Blade is leader of HardCorps. History Early Life Born in the bustling city of Freeport to Charles and Sherilyn Palmer Blade. John was a normal little child who enjoyed his life, loved both of his parents and they loved him too. Charles was a police officer for the Freeport City Police Department – Division 17 and Sherilyn was the sector supervisor for the LegionTEK Corporations chemical research facility located just outside of the city limits. Charles and Sherilyn always tried to raise John in an environment of freedom and growth. Everything seemed to be going fine until the death of his mother. She died in a mysterious fire at the chemical plant that she supervised. The blaze caught everyone by surprise and she refused to leave anyone behind during the evacuation and paid for her bravery with her life. John slowly started to drift away from his father over the coming years. He wanted to see life on his own terms, not his fathers. He wandered the streets looking for excitement and adventure, finally hooking up with a group called the "Young Masters", whose only purpose in life was self-gratification through the pain of others. John was hesitant at first and slowly began to succumb to the temptations of this easy life. They caused havoc on the streets and caused mayhem whenever they could. One day, John was picked up after his group of "friends" had beat up a rival gang member right outside of a convenience store. John’s father tried to break through this impenetrable wall that had been erected around John, and only after John spent six months in a youth rehabilitation facility did that wall began to crumble. John had been broken, but not beaten. He would not let anyone inside and eventually found his way back into his old gang. Charles would not give up and they slowly worked through their pain together and things seemed to be going in the right direction for John. He finally decided to get out of the gangs and get on with his life. He confronted his so called "friends" and found out what terror truly was. They beat him senseless, tied him up and left him locked up in the dark for two days without food or water, finally dragging him along for one last job in this area, which they would pin on him. He struggled free and began to flee the area, his "friends" in hot pursuit. The chase wound its way through many back alleyways and eventually rounded a corner where they ran into two police officers, one of whom recognized his son John. They hesitated only for a second and in the ensuing gun battle John was shot, all five of the gang members were killed, Charles partner was killed, and Charles was severely wounded. He was rushed to the nearby hospital where he later died due to complications. John was devastated at this turn of events. His life spiraling out of control. John’s uncle Garrett became his legal guardian and sat up many night with John talking to him, trying to bring him out of his fugue state. Garrett decided to move them both away from the city to a small town thirty miles outside of Freeport. They stayed there for almost a year. John slowly emerged from his shell and Garrett was diligent in pushing John at the right times and in the right directions. "That was good, because now we start the hard part!", Garrett thought. They moved back to the city and John began his formal training. His training began with martial arts, day in and day out for over two years, next weapons training, and then military tactics training. Garrett knew what his brother Charlie would have wanted for John. He was like clay, perfect for molding right now. He absorbed every piece of information like a sponge and kept coming back for more. The demons inside slowly resided and his spirit became one of a calm crystal clear lake in spring. His focus was on the future and how he could change it. The years passed, and John now reached his twenty-eighth birthday. He had been a field operative for six years now and a unit commander for the past two. His skill is beyond imagination, some even suspect that he made a deal with the devil, but everyone trusts him with their lives. It was at about this time that the whispers of new more potent tailored drugs began to appear on the streets. The chemical manufacturing of these tailored drugs brought with them a new surge in the crime rate and all of the sec-forces were kept busy trying to contain this new beast. The new drugs, such as "Day Dreamer", "Mind Scream", and "Fortune" had highly addictive properties that slowly ate away a person psyche until they became an almost mindless zombie. They lived for the high and would do anything to keep that high. Garrett’s fear slowly seeped to the surface as he uncovered little bits and pieces of just who was behind it all. He found exactly what he wanted and received more than he bargained for. John found Garrett’s body while investigating a warehouse fire in Sector 27. John’s anger exploded. He devoted all of his energy and resources to finding Garrett’s killers. John pursued his leads and ended up with another dead end when the assailant leapt from the one hundred and twenty seventh floor of his apartment complex down into the streets below. The body could not be identified from the amount of damage that he sustained from the fall and the two concussion mines that he took with him. John felt only the slightest satisfaction for this resolution but could at least began to put the pieces of his life back together again. John once again lost the most important person in his life. He felt lost and alone for quite some time after his uncle’s death. He was older now, wiser, and could see that both of his heroes would not want him to mourn their passing for long. He grabbed the reins of the company and reformed under the name of "HARDCORPS", this new name was a testament to the two men who helped John become the man that he now was. He would become as hard as a rock when it came to dealing with the criminal elements that were ravaging this city. Never yielding in the face of adversity and solid through and through. SiN John’s current investigations are aimed at a new strain of the drug U4 (Dyforsanide), which seems to be killing off some of its most devoted users. There are strange rumblings in the background about who is behind this new outbreak of terror. Appearance HARDCORPS tattoo on right arm. Dreadlocks Personality Alternate versions Inferno Regime-verse Strangereal-Inferno SiNfinity Regime-Verse